Article | Industrial PC market prospect in Industry 4.0

Mr. Lee, CEO of SyncusTech, said “The CPU (Central Processing Unit), which is the main component of the motherboard, is becoming thinner, smaller, more efficient, and lower power.” With new entrants inundating the market with standardized products, SyncusTech has leveraged our expertise and in-house R&D team to build an ODM business model and beat both domestic and international competition. The company is thus now delivering superior value by developing performant reference CPU boards which can be customized to clients’ needs very quickly and at an affordable price. SyncusTech has developed various industrial CPU boards since its foundation in 1992, and has recently released the ‘EMB-BYT1000’ and ‘Haswell EMB-QM87’ boards.

Q: What is the industrial PC market outlook in Korea?

A: Imported industrial PCs from Taiwan have dominated the Korean market. Too few domestic companies, like SyncusTech, are competing with imported products. This is because the production environment of hardware has not improved substantially. The perception that imported products are cheaper and nicer than domestic products is an insurmountable obstacle. Therefore, SyncusTech found another production system, ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) to remain competitive.

Q: What is the differentiation strategy for leading the market?

A: The ODM system, based on our own technology is the best solution for surviving the competition from imported and standardized products, such as mini-ITX. SyncusTech has developed various products related to semiconductors, LCD product equipment, digital signage, medical appliances, and more using the ASDP (Application Specific Design Platform). SyncusTech plans to strengthen our ODM business through these varied verticals.

Q: What is the most important product this year?

A: SyncusTech released the ‘EMB-BYT1000’ and ‘Haswell EMB-QM87’models at the beginning of the year. EMB-BYT1000 is a module that is easily customizable to meet the requirements of varied clientele. Haswell EMB-QM87 was developed through a government support project in 2014 and is undergoing reliability tests. It was developed as a Com Express Module and will be used in critical equipment within the medical and defense industries.

Q: How much is SyncusTech willing to invest?

A: SyncusTech has invested about 10% of total sales, and is developing a prototype platform to analyze market trends and assess customers’ needs before specific orders are placed. Therefore, SyncusTech can provide customers with the needed solutions at the least expense, within the shortest amount of time.

Q: What is the target sales goal for this year?

A: This year’s goal is to increase sales by 50%, an increase of 50 billion . Exports to the United States have consistently increased since 2012. This year, SyncusTech has launched international inbound marketing within the North American and German markets. SyncusTech has targeted the North American market, as the manufacturing industry has been revived, and has targeted the German market because it is leading Industry 4.0.